Tongji University (Simplified Chinese: 同济大学; Traditional Chinese: 同濟大學; Pinyin: Tóngjì Dàxué), colloquially known as Tongji (同济, Tóngjì), located in Shanghai, has more than 30,000 students and 8,000 staff members (as of 1 September 2007). It offers degree programs at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. One of the oldest and notable universities in China, Tongji was established in 1907 by the German government together with German physicians in Shanghai. Among its various departments it is especially highly ranked in Engineering. The history of Tongji University can be traced back to 1907 when the German Medical School for the Chinese in Shanghai was founded by the German government together with the German physicians Erich Paulun, Oscar von Schab and Paul Krieg. The school was affiliated with the Tongji-Hospital the German physicians had established in Shanghai on the initiative of Paulun. The name Tongji suggests cooperating by riding the same boat. The school was expanded to include engineering in its programs and got its new name as German Medical and Engineering School for the Chinese in Shanghai in 1912.